A killer side project from Roy Ayers – recorded right around the same time as the Ramp album, but with a different feel over all – proof that the Ayers empire was really exploding at the end of the 70s! The vibe here is quite similar to some of Roy's own albums over at Polydor – a great balance between upbeat groovers and mellower steppers – all done with a nice undercurrent of jazz, thanks to some sweet keyboards from Philip Woo and saxes from Justo Almario – both of who played often with Ayers as well. The vocals are especially great – wrapped up warmly along the rhythms, mixing the male/female leads of Jimmy Haslip and Sylvia Cox with some additional backing vocals from group members – creating a righteous ensemble sound that's totally wonderful, and very much in the Roy Ayers spirit. Titles include "Spread It", "If You Wanna See The Sunshine", "The Five Flies", "Midnight After Dark", and "Love Is Love". LP, Vinyl record album

It's like a dream come true – 13 previously unissued recordings by Roy Ayers, all from the height of his glory years on Polydor! Roy's work from this time is some of our favorite ever – a burning blend of jazz, soul, and funk – handled with impeccable charm, and a level of soul that few other artists of the time ever matched. Roy's genius was strongly documented at the time by a series of excellent Polydor albums – but there was also a heck of a lot of great material that never saw the light of day, and which is every bit as great as the classics that we've come to know and love over the years. Hearing this set is incredible – like upping our already-massive appreciation of Roy's talents, and like finding a lost corner of soul music history that nobody's ever heard before. The tunes are all amazing – a great blend of jazzy soul, mellow soul, and dancefloor groovers – and the package is only the tip of the iceberg, from what we've been told! The full album does a great job to not cross over too much with the 12" singles previously issued in this "Virgin" series – and titles include "What's The T", "I Really Love You", "Sugar", "Mystery Of Love", "Green & Gold", "Brand New Feeling", "I Did It In Seattle", "I Just Wanna Give It Up", "Together Forever", "Boogie Down", "I Am Your Mind", and a great alternate version of "Mystic Voyage"! CD

The genius of Roy Ayers knows no end – and as this set of unreleased work from the 70s proves, Roy was always working at top form back in the day – even above and beyond his classic albums from the time! The grooves here are tremendous – funky, soulful, jazzy, and every bit as wonderful as the work that Roy did for his classic albums on Polydor – and in a way, the whole set's even tighter and heavier than any of Roy's full LPs, because it's a distillation of his sound from the time, hand-picked from the vaults with an ear towards the kind of timeless grooves that have been a huge influence on many worlds of music for years! You've never heard any of these tunes before, but we can promise you'll love them every bit as much as Roy's tracks on albums like Coffy, Vibrations, Mystic Voyage, and other classics – and the quality of the set only further pushes our jaw-dropping respect for the man! Titles include "Holiday", "Kwajilori", "I Am Your Mind (part 2)", "Touch Of Class", "Third Time", "Come To Me", "Wide Open", "Funk In The Hole", "Liquid Love", "Tarzan", "Sunshine (demo)", and "I Like The Way You Do It To Me". CD

The genius of Roy Ayers knows no end – and as this set of unreleased work from the 70s proves, Roy was always working at top form back in the day – even above and beyond his classic albums from the time! The grooves here are tremendous – funky, soulful, jazzy, and every bit as wonderful as the work that Roy did for his classic albums on Polydor – and in a way, the whole set's even tighter and heavier than any of Roy's full LPs, because it's a distillation of his sound from the time, hand-picked from the vaults with an ear towards the kind of timeless grooves that have been a huge influence on many worlds of music for years! You've never heard any of these tunes before, but we can promise you'll love them every bit as much as Roy's tracks on albums like Coffy, Vibrations, Mystic Voyage, and other classics – and the quality of the set only further pushes our jaw-dropping respect for the man! Titles include "Holiday", "Kwajilori", "I Am Your Mind (part 2)", "Touch Of Class", "Third Time", "Come To Me", "Wide Open", "Funk In The Hole", "Liquid Love", "Tarzan", "Sunshine (demo)", and "I Like The Way You Do It To Me". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest Roy Ayers albums of all time – and one of the rarest! The record is right in the same vein as Roy's groundbreaking He's Coming LP – a righteous mix of soul jazz, subtle funk, and some of the cosmic wisdom that Roy was spreading among the jazz funk underground – all wrapped up beautifully, but never in a way that's like commercial soul of the time. There's a few instrumental tracks on the album, plus some vocal ones that show that off-beat male/female style that Roy would use more famously in later tracks like "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" or his work with Ramp. Players include Harry Whitaker on electric piano, Edwin Birdsong on organ, Alphonse Mouzon on drums, Jumma Santos on congas – and titles include a version of Nat Adderley's "Hummin", done as "Hummin In The Sun", and very much in the Ramp vein. Also features instrumental cuts "The Fuzz", which has Roy's vibes toned way up, and the cool mellow "The Painted Desert", a really offbeat slow jazz number. The group also does a great job with Edwin Birdsong's "Pretty Brown Skin", picking up the song as a really anthemic groover that gives the record a nice kick! CD also includes the rare 45-only track "He Gives Us All His Love" – originally done for the movie Cold Turkey. CD

It's like a dream come true – 13 previously unissued recordings by Roy Ayers, all from the height of his glory years on Polydor! Roy's work from this time is some of our favorite ever – a burning blend of jazz, soul, and funk – handled with impeccable charm, and a level of soul that few other artists of the time ever matched. Roy's genius was strongly documented at the time by a series of excellent Polydor albums – but there was also a heck of a lot of great material that never saw the light of day, and which is every bit as great as the classics that we've come to know and love over the years. Hearing this set is incredible – like upping our already-massive appreciation of Roy's talents, and like finding a lost corner of soul music history that nobody's ever heard before. The tunes are all amazing – a great blend of jazzy soul, mellow soul, and dancefloor groovers – and the package is only the tip of the iceberg, from what we've been told! The full album does a great job to not cross over too much with the 12" singles previously issued in this "Virgin" series – and titles include "What's The T", "I Really Love You", "Sugar", "Mystery Of Love", "Green & Gold", "Brand New Feeling", "I Did It In Seattle", "I Just Wanna Give It Up", "Together Forever", "Boogie Down", "I Am Your Mind", and a great alternate version of "Mystic Voyage"! LP, Vinyl record album

If you dig those John Beltran platters of proud, Latin and Brazilian jazz-learned electronic groove, you already know you're in for another treat when his records drop – and this one may be his best yet! On In Full Color he once again injects a lot warmth, and really nice organic feel to the album, thanks to collaborations with a number of vocalists, percussion, some guitars and other instrumentation. Guests like Ayro, John Arnold, Elsa Hedberg, Colonel Red & Local 12 drop in, so you get a pretty great blend of electronic club, Latin, African and altogether global flair, sweet percussion and some occasional guitars and strings. All told, it's about as earthy of a batch of electro club material as you're gonna find – which is another reason to hail John and our friends at Ubiquity! "Rain In Shibuya", "Kissed By The Sun", "Candela", "She Is", "Dia Brisio", "Your Colors", "Azulaje", "Pica", "Starlight Memories" and "Pictures and Indian Summer". CD

The hot and funky Johnny Lewis Quartet recorded this massive slab of jazz in the early 70's, when the group's lineup consisted of organ, tenor, guitar, and very very hot drums. The LP contains some excellent covers of "Cissy Strut", "Blue Funk", and "Chitlins Con Carne" – plus a great original called "Shuckin N Jivin". This reissue also includes a cover of "Them Changes" that wasn't on the original release, which is a very cool bonus, and which sounds very hard and funky! The LP's filled with hard drum breaks, great jazzy solos, and lots of very cool funky grooves. Even if you think you've already got too many obscure jazz funk albums, don't pass this one up! It's a totally great addition to any collection, and even though we didn't know it until we got this reissue, we've been playing it non-stop since we got it! CD

A massive amount of rare work from East Bay funk maestro Eugene Blacknell – an artist who never cut a full album, but managed to record a lot of great funky tracks over the years! This package is the first ever full length set to focus on Eugene's work, and it's a treasure trove of guitar-heavy groovers – starting with some rough-edged, raw R&B-styled funk – then moving into some fuller party funk and boogie-styled numbers! Eugene's guitar is fully in the lead on most tracks – and the vibe of the later work is in a space that's somewhere between Bootsy Collins and Shuggie Otis – a very good place to be, in our opinion. The package was done in collaboration with Eugene's son, and features rare singles, remastered cuts, and even some exclusive and live tracks that have never seen the light of day before. The set features a whopping 25 tracks in all, all with great notes on Eugene's music and story – and titles that include "Cousin John", "Mo Self", "Jump Back", "Getting Down", "The Trip", "Dance To The Rhythm", "For The Sake Of Love", "Jive Kinda Friends", "Wah Wah Funk", "Space Funk", "Don't Stop Now", "Grov-ve Monkey", and even a few rare radio spots! LP, Vinyl record album

His second album, and one of the best acid jazz releases we've heard in a long time! Greyboy reaches a new level on Land of the Lost, and does an amazing job of combining funkybreakbeat tracks with some excellent live jazz playing. Totally stripped down, totally fresh, and solid all the way through. CD

Old classics get the funky remake treatment – in this super-hip second installment of one of Ubiquity's greatest series! The format is simple: old soul and funk classics, re-done in new versions by a host of global producers and DJs, with roots in scenes of hip hop, jazz funk, and electronica. The set is stuffed with great tracks originally written and performed by the likes of Faze-o, Syreeta, Bill Withers, Art Farmer, Curtis Mayfield, Weldon Irvinel, and others – and tracks include "Speak Low" by Big Bang, "Ridin High" by Platinum Pied Pipers, "To Know You Is To Love You" by Greyboy, "Take It All In & Check It All Out" by Joseph Malik and "Deja Vu" by Yesterday's New Quintet. LP, Vinyl record album

A massive amount of rare work from East Bay funk maestro Eugene Blacknell – an artist who never cut a full album, but managed to record a lot of great funky tracks over the years! This package is the first ever full length set to focus on Eugene's work, and it's a treasure trove of guitar-heavy groovers – starting with some rough-edged, raw R&B-styled funk – then moving into some fuller party funk and boogie-styled numbers! Eugene's guitar is fully in the lead on most tracks – and the vibe of the later work is in a space that's somewhere between Bootsy Collins and Shuggie Otis – a very good place to be, in our opinion. The package was done in collaboration with Eugene's son, and features rare singles, remastered cuts, and even some exclusive and live tracks that have never seen the light of day before. The set features a whopping 25 tracks in all, all with great notes on Eugene's music and story – and titles that include "Cousin John", "Mo Self", "Jump Back", "Getting Down", "The Trip", "Dance To The Rhythm", "For The Sake Of Love", "Jive Kinda Friends", "Wah Wah Funk", "Space Funk", "Don't Stop Now", "Grov-ve Monkey", and even a few rare radio spots! CD

A sweet return to Brown Sabbath territory – that wicked blend of deep funk rhythms and fuzzy guitar, served up by the Brownout collective! The groove has some of the Latin elements that you'd know from Adrian Quesada's other work – but the rising guitar lines dominate a lot more – as do the horns, which crest nicely above the music, to ensure that there's a bit more soul here than on the original Black Sabbath versions of the songs! Yet the vocals by Alex Marrero are also sometimes right in Ozzy territory – which brings things back to base a bit – making for one of the most unusual takes on the music of Black Sabbath you'll ever hope to hear. Titles include "Fairies Wear Boots", "Snowblind", "Supernaut", "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", "Sweet Leaf", "Electric Funeral", and "Children Of The Grave". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet and salty psych-soul-rock-funk from Adrian Quesada and Shawn Lee, working together as The Electric Peanut Butter Company! They're a company of just 2, handling every aspect themselves, but if you if ever heard anything by either party, you know this is going to have a huge sound. Lots of fuzzed out psych funk touches on this one – a mix of heady instrumentals and some fun vocal numbers. Shawn handles the singing, and the duo are both multi-instrumentalists and leftfield funk geniuses – managing to work with myriad influences without sounding exactly like anyone but themselves. The drums, guitars and keyboards are masterful here, but there's a lot of cool instrumental and production touches throughout. Vol 1 is actually the duo's second album – the first was Vol 2 (naturally!) – and it delivers on the diverse debut, and then some! Includes "Flexi Funk", "Beer Good", "Spread The Jam", "Stealio", "Tennis Elbow", "Mister Pink", "Austin City Limiter", "Go Go Go", "Damn Skippy", "Jenn Wu", "Fat Budda" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

An unusual project from Chico Mann – one first conceived when he moved to LA, and had the desire to start an Afro Funk band – music penned for that idea, but performed here with the stripped-down style of some of Chico's other work! You can definitely hear how the tunes might sound with fuller horns in a larger lineup – but the instrumentation here is a lot leaner – beats, keyboards, guitar riffs, and some likely samples – all served up with plenty of grit, and a sound that really takes us back to the vibe we loved in the earliest records we heard from Chico Mann! Titles include "Hell", "Taking The Blame", "Here Likes Man", "That Much Closer To Nothing", "Sorrow Tears & Blood", "When I Come To", "Fighting", and "Summon Fire". LP, Vinyl record album

A legendary album from Chicago – recorded by a group with ties to Sun Ra, Phil Cohran, and Earth Wind & Fire! The set's got a sound that more than lives up to all those references – a vibe that's jazzy and soulful, yet often quite righteous too – imbued with the sort of spirit you'd guess from the group's name and the album's cover image – but often served up with a tight enough groove to make the set a favorite for fans of funk as well! There's a really special mix going on here – and unlike other ensembles of the time, The Pharoahs never go too far out – and instead really have the great sort of focus you'd hear even more strongly with Earth Wind & Fire. The lineup features Louis Satterfield on bass, Willie Woods on trombone, Don Myrick on saxes, Black Herman on drums, and Derf Reklaw on percussion and flute – and titles include "Ibo", "Somebody's Been Sleeping", "Damballa", "Freedom Road", "Great House", and "Black Enuff". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best-ever albums by the Supremes – and filled with stone classics, to boot! As the title states, Diana Ross, Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard team up with Holland Dozier Holland – and they really to create the sound that would put them and Motown on the map. A couple of the biggest hits are laid down, but album also features tracks that are arguably even better to hear these days – as they spin out that quintessential Motown sound but aren't hampered by the ubiquity of the oldies radio staples! Titles include "You Keep Me Hanging On", "Love Is Here And Now You're Gone", "I Guess I'll Always Love You", "I'll Turn To Stone", "It's The Same Old Song", "Love Is In Our Hearts", 'There's No Stopping Us Now" and "Love Is Like A Heatwave". LP, Vinyl record album

Karl Denson has long been one of the funkiest reed talents on the west coast – working the groove in classic Ubiquity recordings of SF acid jazz from the early 90s, and playing on some of the strongest records to come out of the Greyboy label at the same time. Here, he makes his Blue Note debut – proving that he can be just as tight and funky with major grooving players like Melvin Sparks and Leon Spencer, and working with other up and coming talents like Charlie Hunter, Ron Levy, and DJ Logic, who adds turntables to a few tracks. Titles include "A Shorter Path 1 & 2", "Dance Lesson #2", "Like Like Dope", "Who Are You?", and "Flute Down". CD

One of Metheny's seminal sides for ECM, in a trio with Jaco Pastorius and Bob Moses. 8 tracks in all, including "Bright Size Life", "Sirabhorn", "Unity Village", "Missouri Uncompromised", "Midwestern Nights Dream", "Ubiquity Road", "Omaha Celebration" and "Round Trip/Broadway Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

The great lost Darondo album – amazing Bay Area funky soul from a singular talent – and material that we did not even know existed! It was cut for Ray Dobard's Music City label – purportedly in just a couple of marathon sessions – most of which we've never heard before now, which is mindblowing in and of itself, as we had thought Ubiquity Records mined what little was available of Darondo for their killer Let My People Go compilation. Lo and behold – here's some more, and it's just as incredible! Slinky, stripped down funk and some sweeter soul that's as much influenced by Memphis recordings as it is the Bay Area – but all with Darondo's distinctive, freewheeling gritty baritone and when the mood strikes, piercing falsetto vocals. A total treasure! It has 10 tracks and approximates the album as it should have been issued in 1974 – with "I Don't Understand It", "I'm Gonna Love You", "Didn't I", "Luscious Lady", "Saving My Love", "Gimme Some", "Do You Really Love Me", "Listen To My Song" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

The beautiful full scale duets set from Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack – a record that's no doubt defined by it's biggest hit – but the rest is just as great! Born To Love kicks off with "Tonight I Celebrate My Love For You" – a song that's doubtlessly one of the most inescapable slow dance classics ever – and if its ubiquity overshadows the rest of the record, that's not because it's any less excellent! Peabo's affectionate style is in top form here, and Roberta is such a perfect duet partner – with plenty of lead moments of her own. It definitely feels like a perfectly balanced partnership. The record's got some lovely slow jams on par with the aforementioned pop soul standard, plus some great ones that up the tempo a little bit. Other titles include "Blame It On Me", "Born To Love", "Heaven Above Me", "Comin' Alive", "Can We Find Love Again", "You're Looking Like Love To Me" and more. LP, Vinyl record album